New comics

New comics!

Fantastic Four 17

The “team’s lost their memory and need to figure out their powers and interpersonal dynamics” thing feels a little overused, but Ryan North does a good enough job with it.  And it works without the reader needing to know anything about the DNX crossover it’s tying into, so bonus points for that.  

Absolute Wonder Woman 24

I just love this title so much when Kelly Thompson and Hayden Sherman are together on it.  It’s a perfect mix of exhilarating action, character beats, and gorgeous art.  I need to find the time to read it all at once, I still haven’t done that.  

Alien vs X-Men 1

This reminds me a lot of Warren Ellis’ WildCATs/Aliens, where the xenomorphs kill off a bunch of mainstays early on, setting up the main event to follow.  Kieron Gillen gets things off to a good start, but hopefully it doesn’t fall apart the way Aliens vs Avengers did.

Wonder Woman 2026 Annual

Tom King lets Stephanie and Leah Williams tell the origin of the Matriarch.  Blah blah she’s been selfish as a kid blah blah.  It’s competent enough, but doesn’t make Matriarch any more of an interesting character to me.  

Absolute Batman 24

I’m honestly surprised at how much my enthusiasm for this title has plummeted.  There’s something going on w/ the introduction of Absolute Batgirl, but I find myself just not caring at all.  A few more months of this and I’m likely to drop it.  

Batman of Two Worlds 1

Something DC put out for Batman Day, which I didn’t know was a thing.  This reads like a Free Comics Book Day kind of issue with short stories featuring the Matt Fraction Batman and Snyder’s Absolute Batman.  Totally not worth paying three bucks for.  

Last Driver 2

I’m totally in this for the art, because Sean Murphy’s writing isn’t holding up its end of the bargain.  

Flash 37

Flash gets into an ethics debate w/ this JLA teammates, and comes across as a simple-minded idiot when he’s unable to even acknowledge the gray area of his Minority Report actions.  It’s all a moot point when a catastrophe he supposedly prevented occurs anyway.  I hope his failing precog doesn’t let him off the hook for his philosophical failings.

Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees Halloween Special

I was saddened to discover that creator Patrick Horvath only did the wrapper scenes for this anthology issue. But the various teams all do a great job, and certainly capture the same creepy spirit Horvath brought to the original two miniseries.  Looking forward to the next arc when it comes out in 2027.  

Superman: The Stranger 2

Wes Craig nails the 1920’s vibe with this story.  It really feels like a spiritual companion to For All Seasons.  Can’t put my finger on why, but that’s the feeling I get when I read this, even though it isn’t as Norman Rockwell.  

Batman 14

Batman looks for Mr Freeze while Verity Pennyworth takes on a trio of cop looters at the mansion.  Eh.  

Death Vigil 3

More of the same.  Again, not Stjepan Sejic’s best, but it might be growing on me.

New comics

More new comics that have backed up.

Batman 13

Matteo Scalera and colorist Tomeu Morey create a Kelley Jones tone here.  Batman fights his way to the top of GCPD headquarters in a very poor man’s version of The Raid.  Vandal Savage is the final boss on the roof, and we’ll see how it goes next issue.  It’s fine.  I’m not that excited about this “Bad Seeds” crossover event.  

Fantastic Four 16

One of Ryan North’s weaker efforts.  The FF violate the Prime Directive on an alien world and go through convoluted lengths to fix the situation.  Not his most inspired work.  

Supergirl: Survive 4

Kara and Kal-El experiment with their powers, then meet an exiled Braniac.  This is the evil one, right?  So him building a gateway to the Phantom Zone can only lead to bad things, right?  I love how this continues to surprise me and leave me guessing.

Daredevil 6

I tried.  But Flaviano as guest artist starkly illustrates how weak Stephanie Phillips’ writing is on this title.  And while I love Lee Garbett, he’s no Hayden Sherman.  He needs at least some semblance of story backing him up to keep me buying.  Cutting from my sub. 

New comics

New comics!

Absolute Batman 23

Conspiracy Bruce Wayne who doesn’t trust his friends or family gets really old really quickly.  I hope he snaps out of it soon, because I’m not interested in reading about this Batman.  The Clayface/Batman/Robins sequence was pretty cool, but the nonstop grimness of this series is starting to wear on me.  

DIE: Loaded 8

Okay, I think I’m done.  I didn’t even read this, just skimmed it.

100 Bullets: US of Anger 2

Same with this.  Buying it out of force of habit, time to buckle down and break the cycle.  

Fantastic Four 15

Another wonderful time travelling story from Ryan North, and the tribute to FF artists past was a lovely touch for this 65th anniversary issue.  And truly, RIP to Johnny’s glorious moustache.

Battle Beast 12

Yesss.  More insane fight sequences from the immortal Ryan Ottley.  I’d like to see his R-rated take on some Marvel characters.  Maybe a Wolverine/Sabretooth fight.  With this brief cessation in hostilities, the title goes on hiatus until next March.

Daredevil 5

I can’t bring myself to drop three titles in a week.  And Lee Garbett gets at least the beginning of arc number 2 from me.  I hope Stephanie Phillips finds her footing and brings something better next month.  This story was maybe replacement level.  

Wonder Woman 36

The second half of this title’s version of The Contest.  It’s pretty good, but I’ll always wish for Miken Janin’s art.  Looking forward to Tom King’s return next month.

Batman 12

A number of assassins come to town.  Batman fights a couple of them and Verity Pennyworth (the new butler) proves her worth.  She’s not as cool as Alfred (I mean, who is?), but she shows promise.  She’s got a ways to go though.  

Supergirl: Survive 3

Every issue of this title zigs a different zag, and it’s frankly mind boggling that Ethan S Parker and Griffin Sheridan haven’t driven the whole thing off the road yet.  In fact, they’ve kept it super fun and engaging.  Kara does the “Hal Jordan creating a lost city with a power ring in Emerald Twilight” thing while Mr Mxyzptlk looks on.  (And it’s one of the few times he’s not infuriating.).  And the cliffhanger promises a fourth new direction in as many issues.  Can’t wait. 

New comics

Battle Beast 11

It’s a fighting issue, which means it’s a good issue.

Fantastic Four 14

This is Ryan North at his best, a one-shot with a clever problem and an even more clever twist/solution.  Absolutely love it.  

Detective Comics 1111

Tom Taylor reveals how Prion died, and Batman unravels another twist.  Probably not worth buying w/out Mikel Janin’s art, but the combination is enough to keep me reading.  

Flash 35

So….basically Wally needs to make the city a surveillance state with himself as the camera in order to prevent all the crime.  How is this not creepy?  I’m surprised North hasn’t addressed the concern yet.  

Dark Knights of Steel II 1

Tom Taylor comes back to this universe, this time drawn by Otto Schmidt.  (Woots!)  A good start to this arc.  I’m not as invested in this Elseworld as I was with Taylor’s DCeased and Injustice, but there’s no denying he knows how to do an alternate reality.

New comics

New comics!

Fantastic Four 13

No Humberto Ramos, but Andrea Sorrentino proves to be surprisingly adept at drawing the funny.  He draws a hilarious out-of-his-depth Johnny Storm, whose hare-brained Ghost Rider goes wonderfully awry.  One of Ryan North’s better FF issues.  

Supergirl: Survive 2

I said last issue that this could go in any number of directions.  I didn’t expect either the Rainbow Lantern Corps or the Lobo Bunch to show up, but I wholeheartedly approve the decision by Ethan S Parker and Griffin Sheridan.  It’s lots of fun and makes for a colorful issue, and I totally didn’t see the totally obvious turn on the last page.  Once again, anything can happen in the next issue, and I’m looking forward to it.  

Absolute Martian Manhunter 12

At the end of it all, do I regret buying all twelve issues of this?  Only the reread will tell, but I suspect yes.  Even Javier Rodriguez’s art isn’t enough, as the shine’s finally come off of that apple.  And Deniz Camp’s story stopped being enjoyable or even coherent about six issues ago.  I’m glad that I don’t have to debate whether or not to buy this anymore.

Batman 11

Like Tom Taylor’s Detective, Matt Fraction’s Batman is just good, clean, superhero fun.  Love The Ojo’s visual design.  (By Jorge Jimenez?)

100 Bullets: The US of Anger 1

Didn’t expect to ever see more 100 Bullets, but the original team of Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso are back at it again.  I might be buying this just out of habit, but it’s still entertaining enough.

New comics

New comics!

Harley and Ivy 6

Horribly unclear fight with Clayface.  But Erica Henderson saves the issue with a cute final scene between the titular couple.  I’d read more.

Fantastic Four 12

One of the funniest endings to a comic that I’ve read in a long time, as Ryan North comes up w/ an explanation for the very real Roman dodecahedron mystery.  Loved it.  

Batman 1-10

I picked up the trade for the first six issues, and decided to add the title to my sub.  Matt Fraction and Jorge Jimenez are doing a fine job with the Dark Knight.  Fraction also writes a hilarious Alfred (albeit in ghostly hallucination form.  Boo.).  Can’t wait for Vandal Savage to get his comeuppance, no one deserves it more.  Well, Joffrey.  Jimenez’s Batman really channels Jim Lee.

Daredevil 2-3

I’m worried that I’m only buying this because of Lee Garbett’s awesome art;  The story’s fine, but nothing special.  It’s kind of like Tom Taylor’s run on Detective right now, with very run-of-the mill adventures.  Only Taylor’s better at folding in special moments.  Well, I’ll stick around for a while longer.

Barbara Gordon: Breakout 2

Hrm.  Things are taking a turn for the worse.  Barbara’s getting drugged in jail, and I’m not finding the resultant story interesting at all.  OMG, is Mariko Tamaki going to disappoint me yet again?   Gaaah, I hope not.  

Absolute Catwoman 1

Well, it’s not a bad start, but it’s nothing more than a standard Elseworlds for now.  

Escape 1-6

An iFanboy recommendation.  (Let’s see how long this following sentence is going to be.)  An anthropomorphized bear (Maus-style) is a downed American bomber pilot in a bat-Nazi filled Germany-analog during World War II (or something exactly like it).  I’ll pick up the next trade for sure.

New comics

New comics!

Wonder Woman 33

Diana, Trinity, and Steve Trevor make their way through the Underworld to meet up with the Fates.  Tom King uses the journey to show once again why Wonder Woman’s such a badass while setting up a fight with Matriarch.  King’s not pushing any boundaries here, but it’s still a fun read.

Battle Beast 9

No fighting = No fun.  We’ll see how the fight w/ Conquest goes next issue, but I’m surprised at how little I want to keep reading this.  

Powers 25 9

Brian Michael Bendis and Mike Oeming keep on keeping on.  Nothing standout, but that doesn’t mean it’s not awesome.  

Fantastic Four 11

Meh.  After moaning about how he’s just the team bruiser, Ben Grimm writes an inspirational manifesto for the FF’s new Future Foundation.  Super meh.  And sadly, the Stan Sakai backup is just as forgettable.  A big letdown from the usually awesome Ryan North.  

Detective Comics 1109

So much nicer now that Mikel Janin’s back.  Tom Taylor also does a swell job showing why Ollie Queen has Batman’s respect.  He’s so good at that kind of moment.

Flash 33

Ryan North wraps up this so-so first arc, and now Wally can…see into the future?  We’ll see where this goes.  I’m not turned off yet, but I’m expecting this to get better.

Absolute Wonder Woman 20

Wonder Woman gets captured and tortured, and while it’s bad, what’s even worse is when she’s involuntarily rescued by Persephone, leading Minerva to think that Diana abandoned her.  Her soul-crushing sense of betrayal, as well as Diana’s horror at being trapped in Hades for six months, powerless to do anything, is heartbreaking.  There’s no way this ends well; Minerva’s likely going to be transformed into Cheetah, and she’s going to hate Wonder Woman for (unwillingly) leaving her to her fate.  Great work by Kelly Thompson and Hayden Sherman, as usual.

Doomquest 1

Doom does Doom things, and gets trapped in time on the Titanic.  This is the Ryan North I love, and I can’t wait to read more.

New comics

New comics from the past two weeks:

Absolute Martian Manhunter 11

This is where Deniz Camp completely loses me.  I’m done caring about the story, with an issue to go. Camp can do whatever he wants, I’m just going to look at Javier Rodriguez’s pretty art next month.

Fantastic Four 10

For someone so hyped up as the ultimate badass, Sue Richards the Invincible Woman sure goes down easy.  (As these knockdown-dragouts go.)  A bit of a letdown, but Bullseye shooting across the galaxy was frickin’ sweet.  

Absolute Batman 20

This issue’s a bit of a drag, as Batman confronts Scarecrow and discovers his entire origin story may have been manipulated into being from the very start.  Too much talking, but at least the fighting’s coming next issue w/ all of the Robins showing up.

Daredevil 1

I’ll always try something from Lee Garbett.  Luckily, Stephanie Philips keeps it interesting as well.  Matt starts a stint as a law professor at Empire State University, and immediately meets a sharp-tongued sure-to-be-a-love-interest antagonist.  Fun enough to add to my sub.

Voyeur 5

David Baldeon can draw, no question.  This is a beautiful comic.  It’s too bad Leah Williams’ heist is ultimately meh.  I’ll give Baldeon a look in the future, but probably wouldn’t buy a followup series of this.

Barbara Gordon: Breakout 1

Babs goes to Supermax prison in order to weed out rampant corruption.  I have no doubt she’ll be able to take care of herself, and look forward to what Mariko Tamaki comes up with.  Tamaki’s been underwhelming for a while now, but I’m still holding out hope for her. 

New comics

New comics!

Detective Comics 1107

It’s odd when Tom Taylor is strictly average, but that’s really been the story of his run on Detective.  On the plus side, though, Pete Woods does a surprisingly good job filling in for Mike Janin, which I would never have believed possible given my exposure to his previous work.  

And who the hell is Prion?

Fantastic Four 9

The Invincible Woman kicks the crap out of the FF, and Ryan North has written himself into a corner w/ a villain who really shouldn’t ever lose.  She’s going to have to lose via personality flaw, like Thanos whenever he gets his hands on a cosmic artifact.

Absolute Martian Manhunter 10

Good to know this is ending after issue 12, or else I’d probably cut it soon; no matter how gorgeous Javier Rodriguez’s psychedelic art is, the Deniz Camp story is finally wearing out its welcome.

Superman/Spider-Man 1

More good than bad in this DC/Marvel crossover.  Enough that I don’t regret picking it up.

Absolute Wonder Woman 18

May Kelly Thompson and Hayden Sherman stay on this title forever.  There’s no end to how much I love this series.

New comics

New comics!

Absolute Batman 17

The origin of Absolute Poison Ivy, though I suspect a twist next issue; Is Poison Ivy Pamela’s mother?  Still the second best of the Absolute titles.  

Wonder Woman 30

Guest writer Stephanie Williams goes completely off the rails with the second part of this “power of love and family saves the day” story.  So much painfully saccharine dialog, it sounded like a fourth-rate self-help book of affirmations.  At least the Jeff Spokes art was decent, but this was a complete miss.  Can’t wait for Tom King to come back.

Action Comics 1095

An iFanboy pick of the week, this one is pretty darn good.  It covers the week following Pete Ross’ discovery of Clark’s secret back when they were in high school.  It’s a narration-heavy issue as Pete processes the hurt he feels from not being trusted with the secret in the first place. It’s a great story by Mark Waid.  I love these well-done one-offs.

Powers 25 6

Cut and paste from last month: “Brian Michael Bendis doing what he does best.  Never change, sir.”

Fantastic Four 8

This is so freaking good.  What if Susan Storm explored her powers to the fullest, and it goes horribly wrong?  Ryan North and Humberto Ramos present this as a horror story, and it hits hard.  Can’t wait to see where this goes.

Ultimate Spider-Man 24

Defying all expectation and precedent, Jonathan Hickman absolutely nails the landing.  It’s basically a big fight scene w/ some epilogue, but it’s expertly done with nary a misstep.  I need to read this all at once now, I expect I’ll do it this week.  Shout out to Marco Checchetto, who was masterful over the course of the entire run.  This was a top notch Spider-Man story.

New comics

New comics!

Planet She-Hulk 3

Emilio Laiso takes over on art.  The fact that I could barely tell the difference between him and Aaron Kuder speaks to the importance of Sonia Oback’s colors.  It really ties the look of the series thus far together.  The story by Stephanie Phillips is as by the numbers as it can get.  It doesn’t bode well for her upcoming Daredevil run.  Which I’m going to pick up regardless because Lee Garbett’s doing the pencils. 

DIE: Loaded 3

Still enjoying this.  Kieran Gillen is bringing together a compelling cast of tertiary characters from the previous series to play the main roles this time around.  It’s a smart idea, and he’s pulling it off so far.  

Children of the Round Table 5

I think I’ve figured out why this series isn’t working for me: it plays more like a highlight reel than an actual story.  Things are moving too fast, there are too many time jumps.  Tom Taylor isn’t giving me an opportunity to like the characters before zipping along to the next plot point.  It’s lacking the depth of character that Taylor’s usually so good at instilling.  Super disappointing.  And the big reveal at the end is yawn.  

Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees: Rite of Spring 5

Holy shit, things are blowing up fast.  I’m not sure why Sam is letting things escalate to this point, it’s like she wants things to go south.  Patrick Horvath’s pacing is impeccable, the pages just flew by at a thoroughly enjoyable breakneck speed.  Can’t wait to see how this all ends.  

DC: KO 3

For an event like this to succeed, the fights have to be top notch.  They aren’t.  They’re not even as good as the ones in Deathmatch.  I’m not sure what’s missing, but they don’t satisfy in the way the best comic battles do.  (Of the top of my head: Bane/Batman in Absolute Batman, Uncanny X-Men 277, anything from Dragonball Z.)

Fantastic Four 7

The twist to this month’s fight was way too cutesy for my taste.  The whole issue’s also a detour from the main Sue Storm/Galactus plot, which I’m way more interested in.  I want to see the core four in action, not their kids.

Wonder Woman 29

Diana returns to Themyscira in an attempt to heal her crumbling mental health.  (Being a single mom’s hard, even for Wonder Woman.)  The rest of the Wonder Family shows up, as does a scheming-in-the-shadows Discord.  (Of Golden Apple fame.)  A fun issue--Whoa, just noticed that Stephanie Williams wrote it, not Tom King.  Nicely done.  And Jeff Spokes does some beautiful work on art.  

Assorted Crisis Events 8

A clever issue that takes place in the gutters of a comic book, but the intellectual exercise gets in the way of the story.  But I appreciate the effort by Deniz Camp, and Eric Zawadzki couldn’t have done a better job with the art.  I also love that they used the old crummier comic paper from the 80s.  

Powers 25 5

Brian Michael Bendis doing what he does best.  Never change, sir. 

New comics

Assorted Crisis Events 7

Not the strongest of Deniz Camp’s efforts on this title, but good enough.  A guy keeps encountering dead versions of himself from other multiverses.  What does he do with the bodies?  How does it affect his psyche?  A downer of a story, as are most of these.  

Fantastic Four 6

Most of the issue is standard adventure-of-the-month, but the ending is set up really well, and I’m looking forward to see what Ryan North and Humberto Ramos do with this.

Children of the Round Table 4

What is it about Tom Taylor and Daniele Di Nicuolo collaborations?  They’re both individually amazing, but both of their comics (this and Seven Secrets) just don’t click for me at all.  I’ll probably give this a few more issues, then bail.

Ultimate Spider-Man 23

Oh no, is Jonathan Hickman going to crash and burn on the landing?  This was going so good for over twenty issues, and now it’s going to falter?  Grah!  The various dilemmas here didn’t captivate me in any way.  I really hope he pulls it out.  It’d be such a shame.  (But, alas, hardly a surprise given Hickman’s track record.)

New Gods 12

Only a re-read will determine if this story was actually any good, but the quality of Evan Cagle’s art is not in question.  A+ work.  

Powers 25 3

Origin story of the cop from the end of issue 2.  This is so in Bendis’ wheelhouse.

Trinity 5

Middle Liz goes on a date with Jason Todd (of all people).  This should be a slam dunk for Tom King, but the fact that it’s Jason Todd keeps this from working for me.  

Batman/Deadpool 1

The DC side of the crossover.  This was mostly total crap.  Grant Morrison writes a shit main meta story.  The backup stories are completely forgettable (except for the excellent Tom Taylor/Bruno Redondo Nightwing/Wolverine/Honey Badger teamup).  

DC KO 1-2

I didn’t pick this up because the first issue was polybagged.  Luckily, the reprint wasn’t.  Elevator pitch: What if the extremely entertaining Deathmatch actually used DC IP?  It’s actually way more Battle Royale free-for-all than the bracket elimination tournament I was expecting.  But it’s still a lot of fun, which is really what something like this really needs to lean into.  

Partisan

Fuck.  Garth Ennis and Steve Epting have something magical going on over at TKO Comics.  This isn’t as good as Sara, but that’s one of the all-time greats.  This is both darker and more life-affirming at the same time.  God, this is good. 

New comics

Once again, I’m so far behind.

Scarlet v1 1-10

Scarlet v2 1-5

Despite his being one of my favorite writers, there are still a lot of Brian Michael Bendis gaps in my collection.  Scarlet was one of those by choice, as the subject matter didn’t really interest me much.  But I’ve become more of an Alex Maleev fan since it first came out, and I found the first two trades on sale, so it was an easy pickup.  

This is a wish-fulfillment “how could someone really push back against the corrupt law enforcement establishment” kind of story.  Bendis takes a ripped-from-the-headlines case of police brutality and extends it in a direction where one of the victims manages to get somewhere with her retaliation, sparking a revolution that extends beyond the noise and generates actual signal.  

It’s not bad, but Bendis has a hard time wrapping it up in any kind of realistic manner.  The plot starts off somewhat plausibly, and then completely spirals out of control.  It ends on a cliffhanger, and I’d pick it up any followups, but it’s not his best by any stretch.

Poison Ivy Annual 1

Credit to Jessica Fong for the beautiful cover.  It got me to take it off the shelf and flip through it, revealing the lovely Mark Buckingham.  This G Willow Wilson story is basically a retelling of the Lady in the Lake story, and given the standalone nature, I figured it was worth a pick up.  This would fit right in with Fables, and it’s a fun little read.

Children of the Round Table 3

This is such a slight story, I finish each issue wondering where the page count went.  But it’s pretty and I want to support the team of Tom Taylor and Daniele Di Nicuolo.  

DIe: Loaded 1

Apparently I wouldn’t buy the original series if I had to do it all over again.  But here I am with this sequel series that I had no idea was happening.  Once again, I’m sucked into this world.  (Just like the characters…)  Like the first Die, each single issue might be stronger than the collected work.  We’ll see if present me is an idiot for ignoring the advice of past me.

Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees: Rite of Spring 4

Our serial killer Sam is falling into the classic comic book villain trap of playing with the detective, giving her a chance to figure it out before killing her.  I have no idea if she’s going to get away with it, and that’s what’s giving this story that extra oomph.  Patrick Horvarth really knows what he’s doing.  

Fantastic Four 5

This time, Ryan North pairs up Sue Storm with Felicia Hardy, solving a frame job to exonerate the Black Cat.  I buy her figuring the method, but not the culprit.  It’s a bit too far of a leap.  Still, it’s fun, and the Humberto Ramos art is more than plenty to cover up the writing flaws.

Absolute Superman 13

Turns out the Battle of Kansas is more of a siege.  It’s not bad, but this Superman just isn’t as relatable as the one in the main universe, and that makes all the difference in the world.  There’s a heart missing to this series that’s holding it back. 

Planet She-Hulk 1

I had zero interest in this, but once again, the value of a strong cover proves its worth.  Aaron Kuder is effing phenomenal, where’s he been?  (Looking…A bunch of Marvel stuff I haven’t read.)  Paired with some fun writing by Stephanie Phillips, this team has sold me on sticking around for a few more issues.

Harley & Ivy: Life and Crimes 1

Erica Henderson tells the origin story of Harley and Ivy’s romance.  I’m not a fan of her work (a huge reason why I haven’t latched on to Squirrel Girl, which I really should try again now that I know Ryan North was the writer on it), but I love this couple and Henderson does a good enough job with this first issue.